WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 17, 2016—The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) today announced that Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) will address the Young Agents & InsurPac State Chairpersons Legislative Luncheon at the annual Big “I” Legislative Conference.
The event will be held on Wednesday, April 13, at 12:00 p.m. in Washington, D.C., and will also feature the presentation of the annual InsurPac National Championship awards, Young Agent of the Year and Eagle awards.
“Sen. Heinrich is well-known and respected for his bipartisan leadership and for working hard to protect America’s small business community,” says Charles E. Symington, Jr., Big “I” senior vice president for external and government affairs. “Sen. Heinrich is the lead Democrat sponsor of S. 2045, the ‘Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015,’ which calls for a full repeal of the ‘Cadillac tax.’ The Big ‘I’ spent a tremendous amount of time on this issue in 2015, and at the end of last year we were able to obtain a two-year delay of the tax to 2020, but the effort continues. We are grateful for Sen. Heinrich’s support on this issue, and we will continue to advocate in favor of his repeal legislation. We’re excited that Sen. Heinrich will be joining us for one of our most important events of the year to address our young agents and InsurPac leadership.”
Sen. Heinrich was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. He serves on the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee as well as the Senate Committees on Energy & Natural Resources, Armed Services, and Intelligence. Prior to being elected to the Senate, he served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before he was elected to Congress, Sen. Heinrich served four years as an Albuquerque City Councilor and was elected by his peers as City Council President. Sen. Heinrich earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri.
“Big ‘I’ young agents are the next generation of independent agency leaders and InsurPac is one of the most powerful political action committees in the country, largely due to the leadership of our state chairs,” says Nathan Riedel, Big “I” vice president for political affairs. “These two forces are among the most influential in the industry and will greatly benefit from Sen. Heinrich’s insights. We look forward to continuing to increase our young agents’ involvement in the political process.”
The Big “I” Legislative Conference is the insurance industry’s best-attended, most effective legislative meeting. This year’s event will take place April 13-15 at the Renaissance Washington, D.C., Downtown Hotel.
The legislative conference is an opportunity for Big “I” members to discuss important issues with their congressional representatives. Top issues this year include the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP), insurance regulatory reform, healthcare and other economic challenges facing independent insurance agents and their clients.
Other highlights of the Big “I” Legislative Conference include in-depth issues briefing sessions, appearances by numerous high-profile speakers to discuss important insurance and national issues, and hundreds of meetings on Capitol Hill between Big “I” agents and brokers and their elected representatives in Congress.
Journalists interested in attending, please register online, send an email to
margarita.tapia@iiaba.net or call (703) 706-5473 for media registration.
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of approximately a quarter of a million agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address:
www.independentagent.com.
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